Charles Barkley is never boring. He's never at a loss for words. During the CBS/Turner Sports NCAA Tournament Media Day event in New York on Tuesday, Sir Charles held court with reporters looking for quotes and Barkley certainly did not disappoint.

In a conversation with Newsday's Neil Best, Barkley said that when CBS and Turner began their collaboration on the NCAA Tournament in 2011, the relationship was rather prickly at first.

Barkley said that some existing CBS analysts, those who had been working on the tournament for years, did not take kindly to the Turner announcers. The Chuckster said they felt threatened that the Turner analysts would step in and take their jobs. Barkley went so far to call them "jerkoffs." And while he later retreated from that definition, it is clear that Barkley still has some scars from the early days of the CBS/Turner partnership.

Charles singled out CBS analysts Greg Anthony, Dan Bonner and Mike Gminski as those who were gracious and open to the Turner analysts. He said Bonner in particular approached him and even volunteered his phone number to Barkley to help him with certain players.

Barkley said once the CBS staffers realized that their jobs were not being threatened, they later warmed to the Turner people, but it was a rocky road at first.

This description differs from the harmonious picture that both CBS Sports and Turner Sports Presidents Sean McManus and David Levy have painted to the media. And while the relationship may be rosy at the moment, Barkley presents a very different side to the start of the consortium.

About Ken Fang

Ken has been covering the sports media in earnest at his own site, Fang's Bites since May 2007 and at Awful Announcing since March 2013.
He provides a unique perspective having been an award-winning radio news reporter in Providence and having worked in local television.
Fang celebrates the three Boston Red Sox World Championships in the 21st Century, but continues to be a long-suffering Cleveland Browns fan.